Hot Wax Jetting Technology Introduced for Lab-on-a-Chip Applications

Wax jetting technology can be used for lab-on-a-chip applications in all stages of development and manufacturing including prototyping, preproduction runs for clinical tests, or U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification, as well as for mass production of lab-on-a-chip test kits.

Hot wax is used as a gate or valve, to contain fluids on a chip until the critical time when they are released to interact with other fluids or specimens deposited on a chip for diagnostic testing. A wax gate or valve, when used in place of a mechanical valve, provides a system that is easier to manufacture.

Asymtek's (Carlsbad, CA, USA) DispenseJet DJ-9000 jet dispenses an exact amount of wax onto discrete locations on the chip. The wax keeps the fluids used in the biologic test in place on the chip and contaminant-free. When the chip is heated to a specified temperature, the wax designed for that temperature melts, releasing each specific fluid into the flow path at the point it is needed in the testing process.

Hot wax is a phase-change material, changing from a solid to a liquid when it is heated, then reverting back to a solid when cooled. Waxes can be formulated to melt at a specific temperature for the application, and multiple formulations can be used on the same chip.

Jetting is an automated, non-contact process that dispenses fluids cleanly and reliably. With jetting, the wax is maintained in the jet at the precise temperature needed for optimal dispensing. "Jet dispensing technology creates new possibilities for lab-on-a-chip applications,” said Jim Klocke, senior business development manager of Asymtek. "Hot wax jetting is perfect for biomedical and laboratory applications because it is highly accurate and meets clean room conditions with no risk of contamination.”

Fluids can be jetted into spaces as tight as 175 µm. Fillet sizes as small as 300 µm, dot diameters of 0.20 mm, shot volumes of 1.0 nl, and a jet stream size as small as 50 µ can be achieved using Asymtek's jet. Fluids with viscosities from 1 to 250,000 centipoise (cps) can be jetted for a variety of medical applications, including medical electronics device assembly.

The new DispenseJet DJ-9000 jet allows for precise, high-speed delivery of a wide variety of fluids including underfill, surface mount adhesive, encapsulants, conformal coatings, UV adhesives, and silver epoxy. Based on the company's DJ-2100 series, the DJ-9000 is a new generation jet that is faster, easier to clean, and delivers the capabilities needed for today's most advanced production requirements.


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